Grinnell ED

Colleges and Universities A-Z Grinnell College
1

My D has only one college on her list. although she applied to a state school and was admitted into the Honor College there.

Grinnell has been her dream school forever and it’s all she wants. We are very new to this process and we heard very positive language for her admissions rep (great fit, stand out candidate, etc).

But as I read the threads my heart sinks for her, thinking there is no way because of her ACT score (26), we did not have the money for tutoring and it was her first time taking the exam. I might also mention she was eligible for accommodations which she did not utilize and were not put in place until 9/1 of this year.

She is an excellent student, 3.96 GPA, she took mostly IB classes because she loves the environment of IB. She had a C both semesters of her JR year in Algebra 2. She is in the top 13% of her class but will probably move into the top 10% by semester end, because her first quarter of her Senior year she had all A’s.

She has decent EC but most didn’t start until this year. We’ve had a rough time at home with the death of my husband by suicide. Yet, she preserved.

She had a great and I mean great interview with Grinnell, part of me feels very optimistic for her because they really do use a holistic admissions approach. If you haven’t applied there and want to, they are amazing, personable, and so very kind.

I’m not sure if this is a chance me post or a moral support post for anyone else applying ED at Grinnell.

She is retaking the ACT 12/9 with her time and half accommodation. We believe her score could easily go up 4-5 points. But the ED decisions will most likely be made if they haven’t been already.

We didn’t have help with her essay, she wrote it by herself, she let me look but would not accept feedback as she felt it wasn’t honest to have help. I of course thought it was amazing. We “think” her rec were very good but we waived the right to see them.

The Admission rep said she thinks my daughter will be fine, she will fight for her, and she is the kind of student they want(is this normal language?). She said they will be able to see the disparity is her ACT sub scores and her grades (English was a 31, the rest, not so great).

We would love feedback and or support from others going who are waiting for ED decisions.

Or the unthinkable, where to focus next for ED2. Although, for my daughter this is the only school she wants.

Good luck to all!

2

I am so sorry to hear of your husband and kudos to all of you for persevering and continuing to move forward.

In general I think having one “dream” school is a bad idea but I guess that ship has sailed. What exactly does she love about Grinell? There are many wonderful LACs out there (some of which are test optional) if Grinell doesn’t work out (I truly hope it does).

One thought I have is if she thinks she can get the ACT up that much does it make sense to move Grinell to ED2 so they will get the new and (hopefully) improved score in time to count towards her admissions decision?

3

I agree with @happy1. I would pull the ED app and change it to ED2. You run the risk of a flat out rejection with the low ACT score. The December test score will make it in time for ED2 and hopefully her score will improve.

4

I’m sorry for your loss. Something like that will definitely be taken into consideration in the admissions process but her ACT is still way low. If the admissions rep said that she would fight for your daughter’s application, then you can take her word that she will…BUT this doesn’t mean that she will win the fight and she will be fighting for other applicants too.

Grinnell is a wonderful school but there are other terrific LACs out there where she can be just as happy. Moving the application to ED2 is a good strategic move. Did you ask the admissions rep about this? Also, I’m not sure about the timing of when the scores come out but if she isn’t able to pull her score up significantly for the ED2 round, then another conversation to have might be whether she should take a gap year. This would give you time to do two very important things: (1) prep properly for the test, and (2) visit LACs that are matches for her and give her time to start picturing herself at several different schools.

5

Thank you both for responding! She is legacy, by her grandmother. Although she is not legacy that contributes great amounts of money. We were advised by the college to apply ED1. The reason it’s her dream school is because it fits for her. She feels like she belongs, she feels like she’ll be around other students that are like-minded. She loves the diversity. She loves the small community feel, she loves their philosophies on education. It’s also not terribly far from home, 4 1/2 hours by car. Just like they said to my daughter that she is a fit for them, she also feels they are a fit for her. The admissions rep told me that they are not just looking for scores they are looking for kids that fit. She said that they will be able to see the disparity even in her sub scores. They will recognize that this was the first time she took it, and they will be looking at her grades which are excellent and her course rigor, despite her challenges, the fact that she pushed herself, for the sake of learning, and nothing else.

They are considering her 1st gen college despite her grandmother being a grad (step grandmother). Although, GM does not contribute financially because she cannot, she volunteers a great deal of her time to the school.

Based on these things, I would encourage anyone who thinks that Grinnell might be out of their reach to apply. I know that everything you read says their average ACT score is 32…But I believe them when they say that’s not everything. Whether or not my daughter gets in, Grinnell is amazing. They have treated us as people not just an applicant.

Also, we can’t afford other LAC. I’m not even sure how we are going to swing state school where she was accepted into their Honor College.

I’m sure I sound somewhat ignorant to the process because I am. I will say this I don’t believe the people at Grinnell are cruel. I don’t believe that they want a pool of applicants that they can resect to boost their ratings.

The school has literally gone out of their way to make sure the parts of the application beyond my daughter’s control were taken care of. For example our HS counselor had never seen the common app, they reached out to him many times to help make sure it was submitted, he thought it was twice, it wasn’t.

Those of the things that give me hope. Why would they do that for someone that they know they’re going to reject?

6

She was granted time and a half accommodations for this second ACT test. Studies have shown the kids that need that particular accommodation raise their score significantly. We still don’t have a tutor, and yes the ACT composite is low but not “horrible”. If she can make the 83rd percentile without accommodations she was eligible for and the first time she tested it is not a stretch to see what she would do with the extra time. What I’m told is that the admissions board will take all of those things into consideration. I assure you, she is not a subpar student. Not to mention her leadership in the classroom, her concern for her peers, her integrity, all seem so much more important then a standardized test score, or should anyway.

Unfortunately, we don’t have money to visit other LAC, let alone attend. All of her other stats stack up, it’s just the ACT score. If I had known, if only I had done a little bit better as a parent, if I had known the game, if I had found this board years ago, all of that would’ve made a difference. But on the other hand I don’t know that it would have. She believes this is the place for her, everyone believes this is the place for her. Her IB teachers, counselor, etc.

After the last of my husband I lost both of my parents, it’s been a rough four years. And there are things that cannot be measured and listed in the EC‘s. My daughter reaching out to other people that are struggling with suicidal or families that have dealt with suicide. The children that she tutored for free simply because she wanted to. We didn’t think about putting that down on an application. We didn’t know she should make it organized, we didn’t do it for a resume, she did it and I encouraged her to do those things because it was the right thing to do.

She wasn’t looking for recognition, she was looking to make a difference. And again I don’t know that a gap year is in order when she’s been accepted into an honors program at a state school?

The scholarship letters are beginning to roll in for said school. She won’t accept them because she feels like it would be disingenuous since that’s not where she wants to go.

I’m sure that we made mistakes, but again we didn’t know the process. We were just trying to live. And yes she’s my daughter and I’m biased, but she’s an amazing young woman.

7

Your D has so many reasons to love Grinnell. I second the notion that other LACs should be on your list. Why could you afford Grinnell but not other LACs? If Grinnell will give you enough need-based aid, then perhaps other schools will as well.

I would think, too, about how she would fit at Grinnell. With a 26 ACT and Cs in Algebra 2 as a junior, will she be able to keep up with the students? Taking Algebra 2 as a junior is the lowest math path at our high school.

If she likes Grinnell and wants to stay in the Midwest, how about Beloit? Or one of these-

Knox
Illinois Wesleyan
Cornell
Earlham
Monmouth
Wooster
Hope
St. Olaf

It’s great that Grinnell has been so friendly but they probably have no idea that you’re hanging your hat on your daughter going there. They probably assume that they are one of many schools you are considering.

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Yes, Grinnell will meet all of our need. At our school she is now in the highest math class available and she has a very solid A. Her chemistry grades were all A’s. Her Physics grade is an A. Not all schools offer the same curriculum. I don’t know why that class was so challenging for her but she could take IB chemistry at the same time she took that algebra two class and get an A. I believe it came down to the accommodations that she was eligible for and didn’t have. She has literally made mostly A’s, a few B’s in IB, just that one C. Her GPA does not knock her out of the game. It is 3.964 unweighted.

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Ah, this changes things. If the school actively advised you to apply ED1, it’s because they consider her grandmother’s involvement with the school to be a hook.

I’m not an expert at how legacy works but it sounds like you have good reason to be optimistic. I didn’t want to discourage you at all. My son is a student at Grinnell and I’ve seen firsthand how the school captures the heart of certain kids. Wishing you the best.

10

St. Olaf has been sending us quite a bit of recruiting material? I know absolutely nothing about these other schools. Again, forgive my ignorance. I would love to hear input about different schools. Or schools that people like yourself that might be savvier about. Because if we don’t get in have a better shot ED 2 somewhere than RD. She will be lost in a big state school, even in the honors program.

A conservative estimate for her next ACT score (results available Dec 19) is 30, her counselor thinks 32. She truly needs the extended time. ACT wouldn’t have granted it so late in the game without proof of dx back as far as 1st grade. The fact that she did so well her entire academic career without having any accommodations, is a testament to who she is as a student.

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I think she would have a very good chance with the legacy and the hardships she has endured. Good for her tough times and very sorry for your loses. One thing that sticks out to me- the unweighted GPA seems high for having some B’s and C. Are you sure that is unweighted? Not trying to be discouraging at all just noticed it and might be good to know if applying to other schools. Unweighted would mean the IB and honors classes are counted as 4s.

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Thank you!! I’d love to hear your thoughts on the admissions process. I would also love to connect with other families. Honestly, I have absolutely no complaints about the admission process, they understood that this was brand new to us. I was incredibly impressed with the personal attention given to my daughter. There are a lot of students out there that are amazing kids with incredible minds that maybe don’t have a 32 ACT. We come from a high school that has a struggling IB program that might not even be there next year. It’s new to our school, the teachers are awesome, but there’s been scheduling conflicts and not a tremendous amount of interest. It’s something the kids need to really prepare for in middle school. Also, as far as her courseload which again is quite rigorous, there was no prep in middle school. Our college counselor at the school really only pushes the kids to community college or state school. I think she did the best she could with what she had. And she deserves to be around other kids who want to learn and want to excel. We could start a whole new thread about the disparity amongst socioeconomic backgrounds and resources.

I don’t think she is defined by a C in AP Algebra two, it was a huge class, she got lost in a huge class, she need small classes in a small community. That’s why she thrived when she began taking IB classes.

I also don’t think she is defined by believe it or not what is an above average ACT score, without prep. Her prep consisted of reserving a room at the local library several nights a week using an online course provided by ACT.

I don’t know how everyone else’s child then the first time they took the test, but that was her first time and she didn’t have the accommodations she was eligible for.

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Yes, that is her unweighted. I even asked her admissions officer what they calculated her GPA has. She said 3.96. Because that whole unweighted versus weighted process was pretty confusing to me. Her weighted GPA is above a 4.0. Although, I can’t remember exactly what that was. Maybe a 4.2? Each school recalculates differently.

14

I will share with you that on all of our college tours at schools that would be in the same ball park as Grinnell- every single admissions person said 4 hours on a Saturday does not define who you are academically.

15

My daughter was able to get ACT accommodations the second time and her score increased five points. In order to get significant financial and merit aid, she should retake. Look up “gapping” - it’s when a college will admit a student but not provide enough aid to make attending feasible.

16

Thank you! That is my understanding, the kids that need accommodations, do see scores increase by 4-5 points on average. Not to mention just taking it a second time you’re likely to see an increase. So, starting with a first score without accommodations of 26, isn’t bad. I’ll look into “gapping” but if accepted into Grinnell that won’t be an issue as it is a blind need school. I’m sure that we could also apply to Vanderbilt which is another blind need school, ED2, but she doesn’t want to go there.

Again, I am brand new here I’ve just been lurking for a of couple weeks. I would love to talk to other parents that are facing situations like mine.

I might add that she does have some ECs but She doesn’t look like some of other stats I see on here.

NHS
NHSA
Spanish NHS
Key Club
Choir ( very big deal to her)
Choir Exec Board

Most things she did can’t be quantified.

Helping young kids
Staying after school to help her peers that were struggling
Advocating for special needs students
Reaching out to other students who are facing hardships like our own
Taking care of so much at home, grocery shopping, meal prep, cleaning, and I’m ashamed to admit, picking up the slack for me after the suicide and subsequent death of both of my parents.

BTW- She did not write an essay about that, she did not want those things to define her.

She wrote an essay about how STEM and Liberal Arts go together and you cannot have one without the other. Her topic and something she is passionate about.

17

Passions for music, STEM, and liberal arts. Yep, that sounds like Grinnell but it also sounds like a perfect St. Olaf fit. Check out the Net Price Calculator and maybe contact them soon.

18

We are in a ED agreement . If declined we will certainly look a St. Olaf. I’m not really sure what happens if you are deferred in ED1? I feel like her best chance at a school that is not a state school is going to be in the ED process. So if we are deferred from ED1 at Grinnell do we try ED2 at Grinnell or look at ED2 at other schools?

I did run the net price calculator in between reading responses here. It looks like we wouldn’t be looking at more maybe even less than KSU where she has already begun receiving scholarships. BTW we are receiving full Pell based on our EFC of 0.

I do feel somewhat inadequate as I am posting on this thread. But she is a very bright student who has worked very very hard. I wish that we had had more guidance in middle school, because now I’m questioning her math based on another comment. She is literally in the highest math course available to her because she was put in normal math classes in MS. She’s taking honors pre-Calc and she has an A.

I’m beginning to kick myself for not doing enough. I didn’t know. And I can’t change what I didn’t know.

19

An ED agreement shouldn’t prevent you from LOOKING at other schools. Spend some time here on CC and put together a list of alternatives if ED doesn’t work out. It helps to have a Plan B. And good luck to your kid. She sounds like a great candidate for lots of places.

20

Thank you so much for taking the time to give us feedback and advice.